Sanders scores in Sauk Rapids, fifth different winner in five nights

SAUK RAPIDS, Minn. (Aug. 18) – Five straight nights at five different racetracks produced five different winners as Rodney Sanders scored his first win during the Hunt for USMTS Casey’s Cup Sunday night at the Granite City Speedway.

‘The Rocket’ started on the pole but it was his teammate, Jason Krohn who jumped out to lead the first lap. The 2007 USMTS National Champion led the first five laps using the high side of the clay oval, but Sanders inched ahead on lap 6 as the low line began to show signs of taking rubber.

Seeing Sanders’ advantage growing, Krohn moved down behind Sanders just in time to settle into second place ahead of Ryan Gustin, who started sixth.

The race’s first and only caution came at the halfway point of the 40-lapper just as Sanders had caught the rear of the pack, and the restart gave him a clear track ahead to sail away over the final 20 laps to score the win and a $5,000 paycheck.

It looked like Krohn and Gustin would follow in order to the finish line, but a flat right rear tire with one lap to go dropped Krohn to the rear of the running order while Gustin coasted to a runner-up finish-his best in the first nine races in ‘The Hunt.’

Johnny Scott wound up third, Chris Brown was fourth and Daniel Hilsabeck recorded his best finish of the season with a fifth-place effort.

It was Sanders’ 18 career United States Modified Touring Series triumph and propelled him from fourth to second in the championship points standings. Johnny Scott remains on top with 875 points, Sanders has 857, Hughes is third with 839 and Stormy Scott is ranked fourth with 836 markers. The rest of the top 10 with eight events remaining are Payne (758), Zack VanderBeek (713), Brown (677), Dereck Ramirez (645), Kelly Shryock (641) and Lucas Schott (628).

After three days off, the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup rolls on with three events in three states on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 22-24. Action kicks off on Thursday at the Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., and then moves to the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., on Friday. The swing wraps up at the Salina High Banks Speedway in Pryor Creek, Okla., on Saturday.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts or check out our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup – Round 9 of 17
Granite City Speedway, Sauk Rapids, Minn.
Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.